Rick Hurst, the actor best known for his role as Deputy Cletus Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard and father of Sons of Anarchy star Ryan Hurst, has died.
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His first wife, Candace Kaniecki, told TMZ that Hurst passed away on Thursday in Los Angeles. She said his death was unexpected, and the cause is currently unknown. He was 79.
A The Dukes of Hazzard Castmate Pays Tribute to Rick Hurst
Ben Jones, his co-star on the show, also confirmed his death in a Facebook post on Thursday. The post was shared on the Facebook page of Cooter’s Place museum in Nashville, which is dedicated to the show.
“It doesn’t seem right that Rick Hurst passed away this afternoon. When something so unexpected happens, it is ‘harder to process,’ as the current expression goes,” Jones wrote alongside a snapshot of him posing with Hurst in his The Dukes of Hazzard costume.
“I have known Rick for over 45 years, and there wasn’t a minute of that time that he didn’t leave me smiling or laughing. Sure, he was a professional comedian, but mostly he just had a heart as big as Texas,” Jones continued.
“He was a fine actor, a splendid comic, and a wonderfully supportive colleague,” he added. Jones also shared that “everything clicked” when Hurst joined the Dukes of Hazzard cast.
“He fit right in and never stopped making people smile until this afternoon. And since the Dukes is still playing all over the planet, he will continue to make us laugh!” Jones pointed out.
“I don’t know about y’all, but I believe in an afterlife, and I can see Rick up there in Heaven with Jimmy Best and Sorrell Booke and Denver Pyle, putting on the funniest show inside those Pearly Gates,” he said, listing other Dukes of Hazzard cast members who have passed away.
“Rest in Peace, old friend!” Jones concluded.
Rick Hurst Starred in Films Alongside Jim Carrey, Dolly Parton, and Clint Eastwood
According to IMDb, Hurst began his TV acting career by appearing in the series On the Rocks between 1975 and 1976.
But it was his signature role as Deputy Cletus Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard—where the Duke brothers spent their days outrunning the law and defying gravity in fictional Hazzard County—that turned him into an ’80s TV fan favorite.
Hurst starred in 55 episodes of the Southern Fried series from 1979 to 1982. He then left the show to appear in Amanda’s, an American remake of the British TV series Fawlty Towers.
He returned as Deputy Hogg for the 2000 TV movie The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood.
Meanwhile, Rick Hurst popped up as a guest star on a slew of classic TV shows, including The Wonder Years, Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, and Melrose Place.
He also appeared in films like Earth Girls Are Easy, Steel Magnolias, and In the Line of Fire.
Hurst’s final TV appearance was in the short film “B My Guest” in 2016.
His son, actor Ryan Hurst, is known for his roles in the TV shows Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead as well as films like Remember the Titans.